Thornback Ray Fishing Hythe

Sunshiney Rays

Hythe

Fishing has for myself has been a bit and miss lately, well a lot more miss if I'm honest, I've blanked more than I care to say. Probaly because I've been mostly going fishing at very short notice and under prepared rather than carefully planned tactical operations, due to a new arrival to the family, life is very hectic. It doesn't bother me much, as I enjoy fishing even if I do blank, but it doesn't make for a good blog. Anyways on with the hunt, we are having one hell of a hot spell here in the UK, it's been on average 28 degrees Celsius and sunny for 4 maybe 5 weeks in a row now, the best summer I can remember in a very long time!!! With the summer well and truly set in, the Hounds have arrived, although I should by all rights be targeting them, I've found myself happier getting out the light rods and targeting Sole, unfortunately a rock solid Sole venue for myself has totally been changed by a single winter storm, and on top of that, the council is doing heavy sea defence works on the beach as a result, which is no doubt putting off the more sensitive fish from coming close to shore i.e. Sole!.

So I've been trying different venues in a attempt to find my self some more Sole marks, with varied success, I've found a few Sole already, and but they have made me work very hard for them and I'm missing the reliability my old venue had. This trip was one such venture, to an old Sole nemesis as such, Hythe was the first venue where I caught Sole, and from memory 3 of the biggest I've ever had!!! but since that dream day, I haven't had any such luck, in fact I've only managed 1 Sole there since, but Hythe was a tactical decision this time, it ticked all the boxes. High tide was 1.30am and the timing was right for me to do a 2 up and 2 down, I only had 10 frozen Lugworm, not the ideal bait or condition for Sole, but it was the best I could muster with my baby brain planning, 10 weren't going to go far, so I intended to fish a second rod to target a 2nd species, so a took 6 Peeler Crabs and a Bluey, and Hythe offered a good chance of other species such as Bass, Rays and Hounds.

I arrived just after dusk, with no plan where to fish, I found the beach fairly busy, but after a 100 yard walk, found myself a nice spacious gap, which got even bigger when the guys left and right packed up whilst I was setting up. I used my normal Wessex rig with size 4 hooks, a plain 4oz lead, but rather than use my normal bass rods, I took the yuki Q7 which still is a delicate rod with good bite indication, but it offered real range if I needed it, baited with 1/3 of black lug, I cast it out to where I believed the gutter to be, and immediately the rod tore off!! ripping it from the stand and out my hand as I was still settling the rod down!!, I was in!! bang bang the rod tip went and a second burst from the fish stripped another load of line off the reel with a whizz of the drag, and bang, it came off! ouch, small hooks!!!, probably a sizeable Bass, but set me up with excitement for the session. For my second rod I used a Tronix Cobra GT, a standard pulley rig with a 3/0 short shank Owner SSW hook!! super sharp and grabby hooks can totally recommend!!. I baited it up with a large chunk of Bluey, and sent it as far as I could.

The Sole rod didn't do a lot from now on, and probably because I didn't give it the attention it deserved, yes it accounted for a few Whiting and a couple of Pouting, but I missed most of the bites and was left out bait less most the time!! this was due to the fact the Cobra Rod every 20 mins was getting pulled over or slack lined with a Ray!!! every cast resulted in a Ray, I managed a Ray every 30mins from when I started to when I run out of Bluey!!! that's the second time this has happened to me!!! running out of Bluey!! same venue as well, but unlike last time, I did have just enough to last till dawn with one rod, even the last cast was baited up with the head elasticated onto the the spine and ribs of the Bluey, which are normally thrown away but still accounted for one last Ray! I landed 8 in total, and lost what I believed to be a big one to a snag. they were all release unharmed and the single 3/0 was easily removed with forceps. weights were from 2lb 12oz to the biggest at 7lb 2oz with most around the 4lb/5lb, and they were all girls, not a set of clasps in sight! As sessions go, this was one of the best I've had for a long time, no monsters or PB's, but no weed, no wind, nice and warm and little tide run made for a lovely unexpected successful session, landing more Rays than I normally catch in a year, mostly because I normally catch a few Rays before getting distracted with other species, but it would have been rude not to catch them this time, as they were obviously in front of me, and in numbers.

Doing The Conger

Surprise Strap On

Princes Parade, Hythe CT21 6AQ, UK

A short blog this time, admittedly this was a half hearted attempt for a early Cod, I had picked Hythe to fish as at this time of year as it had the possibility to throw up so many species, from Eels,, Mackerel, Scad, Pouting, Whiting, Dogfish, Sole, Dab, Flounder, Plaice, Gurnards, Bass, Rays, Hounds and Cod, in fact I could even add Squid to that list. And what I was gonna land wasn't even on my rader ever, let alone on that list! the plan was quite simple, one rod at range pulley rigs with 3/0 hooks baited with lug and squid or fish baits for Cod/Rays and maybe Gurnards and live bait rigs fishing live pout or whiting close in targeting big Bass.

Well fishing was constant, the Whiting I tried to catch for live baiting were few and far between, but the Dogfish were out in force, eventually I had a live bait kicking away in the surf, unfortunately no bass took a liking to it. The other rod kept me busy, a few Whiting, Pouting and a small Hound pup, but mostly Dogfish, every bite had me hoping and praying for the double knock tell tale sign of the Cod. And I had hope all night, and then it happened!!! a firm but gentle pull down quickly followed by another, and then another leading to a slack liner, I picked up the rod and gently reeled in the line to remove the slack, I felt the fish knocking, I lifted into the fish to set the hook, immediately I knew I was into something different, and I really thought it was a Cod!, to my dismay an Eel surfaced and slide onto the beach, but it was big and then I realised that it was my first ever Conger Eel, a tiny strap conger of around 3lb 8oz. Now I know this fish is small by Conger standards, ok even tiny!, but it was my first ever!! and can only get bigger. It was shore caught at a venue that I don't thing anyone in their right mind would even think they are. And I suspect very few anglers can claim to catching a Conger off the beach in Kent, even if it's just a little strap, so I was very happy angler.

Wrasse Fishing Samphire Hoe

Beautiful Ballans

Samphire Hoe, Kent Downs AONB, Samphire Road, Dover CT17 9FL. UK

Just a few rocks to check then?

Well, It's been a while since my last blog, I've been fishing and I've even caught fish, but life has been so busy with the little one, who's now keeping me and his mother awake, all night and every night, and even more so, he's keeping us on our toe 24/7 as he's just learnt to walk, regardless, I do occasionally get the chance to get out fishing, and this trip was a very enjoyable session. This time of year there is a lot of May weed in the water, a algae bloom that can ruin fishing session, I normally swear I'll pack the sea fishing gear away till it goes away, and start fresh water fishing for Catfish, which I do, but I did have a plan! looking at close range fishing to avoid the May weed problem, I had always fancied dedicating a day to targeting the bigger Ballan Wrasse at Samphire Hoe, although I'd caught plenty of smaller Wrasse and other species with tiny baited sabiki rigs as written about in my blog sabiki fishing Samphire Hoe , it was time to get serious, and crab baits were a must!. 

Rockworm (Rockies), tough old bait

A quick call to my friend Dave, a local match fisherman and bait collector to Samphire Hoe, and it was agreed we would go collecting at silly o'clock in the morning, having always bought my bait, Dave was gonna show me the ropes in bait collecting and make me a complete hunter gather fisherman, and it went like this!, we got up after a few hours sleep, bleary eyed and very tired, we set about wondering about for at least a few miles over dangerous rocky ground almost on all 4's only stopping, to practice heavy lifting with sharp and jagged rocks and occasionally sticking your fingers in deep and dark holes to be pincered by the local crabs for 3 whole hours!!! I would like to say this was fun, well maybe a little, but this was extreme hard back breaking work!! and maybe it would pay many of us to do this occasionally to remind us what goes into finding our bait. With the hard work, I came away with very few crabs that were peeling, the best ones for bait, but I did learn the difference between Blue Velvets, Shore Crabs and Edible Crabs and how strong the claws are off the edible crab, seriously not to be underestimated as they crush clams and mussels and a little finger is a lot softer!!!!!!! I also found some worms, believing them to be Maddies, I later found out the were something a little bit different, Rock Worms. 

Blue velvet peeler crab

With a bucket of crab and a pot with a few worms I said my thanks to Dave, and set off to Samphire Hoe to see if I could find these bigger Wrasse.. I had my 2 Dawia Therory Bass rods, paired with Penn Fierce 2 reels loaded with 12lb mono direct to pulley rigs, plain 4oz leads, with a single size 1 chinu hook baited with soft peeler crabs or hard back crabs. The sea was a little bit more coloured than I would of liked and definitely not that calm, guessing that this would push the fish away from the wall and deeper into the nooks and crannies of the big boulders, I launched the baits out about 40 yards, where I envisaged the big boulders gave way to the natural sea bed, as this should be a good place for the larger fish to patrol. It didn't take long for the first rod to take a massive pull down!, excitedly I struck the rod and played the fish hard, fearing it darting into the rocks and invariably snagging me up, the fish was free and coming up in the water, it felt big, and it was!, just not what I expected or wanted, a Dogfish!, but a welcome catch and starting the session off.

Stunning Corkwing Wrasse

Peeler crab was the bait bringing the fish, the next 5 fish all came to peeler rather than hard backs. my first was a Pouting, closely followed by a couple Ballan Wrasse of about 1lb,and 1lb 8oz, and another Dogfish and Pouting. It was fantastic fun watching the bites on the soft bass rods, and 1 thing was slowly dawning on me, I had not snagged the bottom yet, Samphire Hoe is a tackle graveyard, and somehow I was lucky enough to be avoiding the snags. Even though it was still early into the session I had another issue I was down to my last Peeler, the hard back crab rod had not had a sniff of a bite. But I wrapped the bait up as carefully and perfectly as i could, it was a very small Blue Velet Crab but fitted perfectly on the size 1 chinu hook. I sent it out about 40 yards, felt the lead down to the bottom and rested the rod, It was high water and I felt very confident. Well it took 30mins before taking a severe pull down followed by lounging runs each stripping line off the reel with a burst!!,

Best of the bunch, 2lb 6oz Ballan Wrasse

Micro Pouting likes the Rockworm

I picked up the rod, and tightened the drag, and lifted into a fish, immediately I felt it knocking down the rod, was it a Bass, or was this my big Wrasse? I bullied the fish to the surface as I didn't want to give it a chance to dive into one of the big holes between the big boulders, all by myself, and i think I need a medal for this! I lowered the drop net down, in strong winds, over a ledge, and into the sea, and scooped up the fish, with one hard, as the other was holding the rod and playing the fish!! It was my big Wrasse, a beautiful Ballan weighing 2lb 6oz, OK not my biggest, but the best looking one!! What a cracking session this was turning out to be, I had run out of peeler, and still no bites on the hard back crab, I was now onto the Rock Worm that I had found, and accounted for a few more fish, my bringing my tally was 4 x Ballans, 2 x Corkwings, 3 x Dogfish, and 4 x Poutings, This wasn't the most hectic of sessions, but peeler crab bought out the bigger stamp of Wrasse for sure, Just wish I'd had more, as the hard back crabs did not induce 1 bite!!. It had been a wonderful day, and to top off the sun burn, I got I finally got snagged up losing my rig, With that it was time to call it quits! knowing I had been a very lucky boy not to lose more tackle.

Bass Fishing, Hythe

Silver Bars From Heaven

Hythe, Kent. UK

Well it should be winter and the Cod season should be in full swing, but it isn't. With a long warm summer, the sea temp is still very warm, and of coarse the wind direction is completely coming from the wrong direction, all though this wouldn't stop me from at least trying. My rigs are ready, reels serviced, batteries all replaced, new line, and with 60 finest Dungeness Black Lugworm and a box of Squid, I made my way to my intended mark, looking out to sea the surf was awesome, with a ferocious side wind of 35mph gales, this was gonna be a tough little fish I thought, I phoned a friend who was possibly coming fishing, and found out he was all ready fishing at Hythe, Mackerel were bubbling in the sea, he and his friend were catch Mackerel with feathers and using them as live bait and getting bites from big Bass, well what could I say, I looked out at the mean sea at Dungeness and thought, a more sheltered fish where I had company and fish were showing now! It was a no brainer, especially combined with the fact I really wasn't confident of catching a early Cod. I set off with speed and great expectations to Hythe.

Perfectly presented whole squid on 6/0 pennel

As I arrived at Hythe, my friends had both caught a Bass each of around the 4lb mark, unfortunately they had lost a fair few too, but things looked promising and the Mackerel were still along the shore line, obviously being corralled against the beach by the Bass and giving their location away by the diving seagulls hitting the sea. Dam I didn't have feathers, why would I? I was going Cod fishing! Alas, I set up my rods one with 1 single large Black Lugworm, and the other with a whole Squid, both on 6/0 pennel pulley rigs. both cast out at 10 and 20 yards, I sat and waited. I had 1 bite within 10 mins, but I missed it, the Mackerel shoal seemed to dissipate all though a few brief show in front of me gave me hope, All was quiet, then the joyous screaming from my friend Warren, I knew something was up, so I ran over to see him just land a monster Bass, and the biggest Bass I'd ever seen, A new PB for him at 9lb 8oz, a beast of a fish, I was made up for him, so happy, that's what I love about fishing is it doesn't matter who catches what, I like the banter but I've never been jealous, it's the joy it brings to other people, that make me happy too.

First Bass of the night

The next hour was quiet, apart from the odd Whiting I dragged in. A very happy Warren had not surprisingly decided to call it a night. All though it had gone quiet, I decided as I had bait and time, I was out for the night, I prepared for the night, and decided to revert back to try for a Cod, big Lugworm and Squid baits to be fished at range. The Lugworm seemed to attract Whiting and Pouting one after the other, whilst the whole squid bait seemed to be left alone, I soon got fed up of the pesky Whitings, and both rods were now baited with whole Squid, one at range and one close in, because as low water come and past the wind picked up dramatically giving rise to similar surf I saw earlier at Dungeness, I sat there thinking this now looks like perfect Bass fishing, and I sat quietly confident. It wasn't long before I had landed 2 Bass, one from far out, and one from close in, they were both around the 2lb mark, but even still, I had a feeling I would either get a Cod, or a Bigger Bass and maybe even a Ray.

Gonna need a bigger tape measure

I wasn't disappointed, the rod at range had a few sharp pull downs, then a classic slack line, I reeled in to take the slack, and immediately the fish on the end was pulling back hard, I was using my 7oz big bait casting rods, and not the most refined fish rods, but I knew that the fish was pulling very hard to put a bend in the rod. I first though a big Cod, the fight was pretty short lived with the end tackle I was using, as I dragged the fish out the water up the shingle, I had to look twice maybe 3 times?!? first I thought it was a plastic bag, then I though a strange shaped fish, as I focused and worked out what it was, I realised I was just looking at a very big round fishes head straight on, with it's mouth opening and closing, the reflections of the scales and darkness inside the mouth was quite distracting. I literally threw my rod down, and run over to the fish and then I realised what it was, the excitement took over, I grabbed the fish, it was a monster of a Bass, definitely the biggest I'd ever had caught, a new PB for sure, I weighted and measured the fish, it came in at 72cm long and 9lb 8oz. It was immaculate, a pure beast of a predator, a perfect silver bar, I struggled taking selfies with the fish, and I wish there was someone to take my trophy photo of the fish, but after working out my phone didn't have a timer mode, I made my way to the water and released him without a second thought.

9lb 8oz Bass, a 72cm bar of silver, beautiful!

Wow, what a fish!, I was in shock, and my heart was still pounding, I laid my back on the beach, in the now howling wind, I looked up to the stars, and I believe I spoke to and thanked my god. What a night, I had seen 2 of the biggest Bass I'd ever seen, and had caught maybe a fish of a lifetime! I had no intention of continuing fishing, yes I may have caught more, but I didn't care, I didn't fish, I didn't even go home, I just sat on the beach with my tackle in a total mess around me, my 2 rods laying badly on the shingle like matches throw down, without a care in the world, savouring the moment for as long as I could.

Sole Fishing

Summer Sole Searching

Hythe, Dungeness, Hastings

Traps set, now to wait till dusk

This blog is a bit different to the previous ones I post, I have been searching for Sole since late June and it's now September. not only has this been a challenge, but thrown up some lovely fish and a few welcome surprises along the way, this blog is over 11 sessions and a few venues. The plan was simple enough, to fish small hooks and small worm baits close in during dusk and night. and to pin the baits to the sea bed where the Sole are more likely to find it. I had made myself up plenty of 2 hook boom rigs with size 4 Aberdeen hooks in preparation. One of the things about summer fishing, is the fact the calmer sea allow you to lighten up everything, 12lb main line, 50lb leaders, Bass rods rated at 2 to 4oz, and small leads makes for a much more enjoyable and less strenuous session, something which I very much look forward too after the brutal strain and stress that winter fishing into a stormy sea, in bitterly 20 to 30mph winds and rain.

Best Bass of the summer

2 hook boom rig, size 4s

Now having a full time job where I work the same amount of hours again in overtime doesn't leave me much choice in when I can go fishing, so with limited free time and sometimes I was lucky enough to have my last job of the day by the coast also gave me a opportunity to go, rather than the tide, weather and sea conditions, this was where my tackle was ready at a moments notice and I would be taking every opportunity when I could within reason of coarse, but if I'm honest, sacrificing a nights sleep on a work day isn't beyond me either, well my job prepares me well for sleepless long days. Ideally weather would need to be hot and a sunny day with high pressure and a gentle Northerly wind with a clear water and fish a rising tide. I think the first 4 sessions I done, the only thing that was right was that I was fishing in the dark, conditions were not hot, and the sea was angry with stiff Southey wind giving rise to a very muddy and angry sea with big surf, more akin to Bass fishing.

New species Horse mackerel

Although conditions were not right for Sole, The fishing was good, I fished multiple places along Hythe and Dungeness, catching Bass with a few nice keepers for the frying pan, also plenty of Rockling, Pouting, Dogfish, a new species for me Horse Mackerel and more Eels than I've ever caught in my whole life, now I'm not a Eel hater, and I'm happy they seem to be making a big comeback after becoming a protected species, but seriously they are rig wreckers and hard work to unhook, twisting the rigs into slimey "tangballs" (my invented new name for this particular tangle ) which results in it being chucked away. needless to say, the bigger Eels that I caught of around 2.5lb gave brilliant accounts of themselves on the light gear and heavy surf, that definitely gets the adrenaline going.

Biggest Eel of the year

Still Soleless, I decided to try a different bait, I'd been fishing local black Lugworm, but had my suspicions that Ragworm maybe the right bait. This in itself created a new problem, my local bait shops did not supply Ragworm, so I used a online store to deliver live Ragworm to my home address the day I had planned to go fishing, this did not go smoothly. the first delivery ended up at the wrong address, where a elderly lady accepted my delivery of live Ragworm, and opened it up in her kitchen believing it to be a new kettle, I would of loved to be a fly on the wall when she reached in and found the worms, needless to say, now with a traumatised complaining neighbour and having to send my wonderful wife on a peace keeping mission to collect the worms, I did get to go fishing with Ragworm as bait which resulted in my first couple of Sole this year, both were very small and released to grow, but very welcome none the less. Convinced the Ragworm was the difference between catching Sole and not catching Sole, I ordered twice again, but both deliveries failed, and left me baitless and unable to go fishing, I don't blame the online shops, but the parcel companys that seem unable to deliver to my address, and make a purpose made process where getting in touch with them to complain or locate the parcel is almost impossible.

Its a start, a little Slip Sole

Although I'd found a couple of small Sole, I wanted to do better, at least get a keeper to take home and cook!. The next lot of sessions were Soleless even though the weather conditions seemed perfect, back to locally bought Black Lugworm I just continued to catch Eels, Bass, Whiting and Pouting, by now I had worked myself all along Hythe beach front over the summer, fishing a different mark each time, I'd fished close in and at range, I'd fished 2 marks at Dungeness with no avail, I was confident of my tactics and bait, even though the Rag had worked, there was no doubt in my mind the Lug would be taken by Sole if they were there, so more the question was what was I doing wrong? It had to be locations, and work came to the rescue and offered the chance to fish Hastings, obviously I would have to repair a chiller in a store along the sea front, but damn it would be rude not to take the rods with me for after.

Slimey tangballs

After procuring some local Lugworm, a lot smaller than the Dungeness Blacks I'm used to, but they were top quality live Lugworm, and the absolute perfect size for a small size 4 hook and small mouths of the Sole. Setting up on my favourite mark the wind was ferocious, the surf was big, again I thought Bass rather than Sole. I struggled with the light Bass rods, they bounced about all over the place making bite detection almost impossible, but the fishing seemed the same Whiting, small Bass, and yes even more rig wrecking slimey sea snake Eels! I had almost given up hope of a Sole, as I sat there way later than I had anticipated, I had now changed one rod to a live bait rig, which Whitings were happy to attached them selves to, in the hope of a big Bass nailing it during the darkness in the rolling surf, and my other rod still a boomed Sole rigs cast about 15 yards out. Then bang, a big pull down followed by a slackliner on the Sole rig, the biggest and most definite bite for the night!, as I reeled in I knew a fish of a bigger stamp was attached, a bass or big Eel I thought, but no! finally my target species! a 36cm Sole, a plump fat keeper, perfect for dinner for 2!, I was over the moon, it didn't stop there, I had another 3 more smaller Sole in the consecutive casts, until I ran out of bait, and I'm sure I could of had more.

Biggest of the year Dover Sole

Well what have I learnt?, this has been one hell of a challenge catching a Dover Sole, let alone a decent sized one, I tried my hardest, and 10/10 for effort, I'm sure I was just unlucky, or possibly was fishing the wrong venues or tides, I just haven't nailed this Sole fishing quite yet. But I was catching fish, and lots of them, with new species of Horse Mackerel, some lovely Bass, and Eels, on top of the normal species, the surprising thing was how close these fish get to the beach, most of my fishing for Sole was around the range of 10 to 30 yards out, and many of the better fish were taken even closer in! Using the Bass rods light lines and leads was a sheer pleasure, I also enjoyed the warm summer nights and appreciated them knowing the pending winter season is closing in. And I definitely haven't had a very successful Sole hunt this year, but the one bigger one I did catch, was well deserved, I enjoyed sharing this top class eating fish with my wife, and who knows although winter has started, we have just had our hottest day of the year, so maybe just maybe I may get another crack this year before the winter comes.

Float and sabiki fishing Samphire Hoe

Never Too Young

Samphire Hoe, Dover, Kent CT17 9FL, UK

Start em young I say,  is he even paying attention?

It's been a hectic few months lately with the arrival of a new member to the family, and I can't wait till he's old enough to handle a rod, but for now, the sun was almost out, and we needed some fresh air, even if only for a few hours. After some thought to ease of access with a pram, toilets, small coffee shop, Samphire Hoe stuck out as a good venue considering the circumstances. I'd fished Samphire Hoe a few times in the past, and knew a great tactic to catch various species straight down the sea wall edge, but a trip late last year which left me clinging onto my rod for dear life as without doubt the largest fish I've ever hooked sea fishing took a live bait, then stripped near to 50yards of line off the spool, before snapping the 60lb leader, the memory of "the one that got away" or more precisely "the one that nearly pulled me in!" had giving me optimism to fish Samphire Hoe with 2 rods, a light spinning rod with baited sabikis for small stuff and to catch the live bait, and a second rod float fishing a live Pouting.

Garfish, loving the fight these put up

Tompot Blenny, these got some bite for wee fellows

I set up the spinning rod using a 3 oz lead ball, sabiki rig with size 14 hooks, baited with tips of squid tentacles, I gently lowered the rig straight down the side of the sea wall, until the lead rested on one of the large boulder that are stacked up against the bottom of the wall, I set the drag very light, and left the little one in charge of watching for bites. The rod was motionless whilst I set up the second rod, with a large sliding float, without a bite for 10mins now and several recasts, I decided to fish a smallish slither of squid on a size 7 carp hook on the float rod whilst I waited for a small pouting to bite the sabiki rig. well this wasn't going to be easy, It had been a hour and not a touch, I tried further out, closer in, left and even right trying to locate some fish but nothing, a little bemused, I convinced myself that in 10mins the tide was at its lowest and the fish would come out to play then. Then I hear the drag go on the float rod, a short sharp pull that then stopped, I looked at the tip and it bent over and rattled quite violently, I excitedly picked the rod up and struck into a fish, it was quite a good little scrap, and the culprit then surface in a explosion of water splash, "Mackerel" I said, but no, as it came over the wall and I got a proper look I could see it was my first UK caught Garfish weighting 1lb, was a fish that made the trip worth while. a long slender body with a sharp bill bristling with needle sharp teeth, it was a welcome catch for sure.

Corkwing Wrass gets my vote

The little one still hadn't had a bite, I decided to change bait and instead of squid I baited the sabikis with tiny sections of Lugworm. Instantly the rod rattled away like I been expecting, then the fish started coming one after the other, Corkwings, Pouting and Tompot blennys cast after cast, was it the bait change? or my original though of them coming out to play over low water, it didn't matter, they were out in force. I used a small 3oz Pouting as live bait, 60lb florocarbon hook link and a 4/0 circle lightly nipped through the top lip, and gently lowered down the side of the wall so as not to stun or hurt the live bait, and left drifting down tide bouncing along the sea wall. setting the drag a light as possible just in case of a violent take. All attention turned to the sabiki rod, more of the same cast after cast, bouncing the lead around gently under the rod tip till it found a deep hole between the boulders and in some instances the rig was dropping another 2 meters deeper, making me wonder how big the boulders actually are!, but this would ensure a bite within seconds.

Pouting, great live baits!

It had been a frantic 30mins, then disaster struck, I got snagged and lost my sabikis, and without a spare set, things were about to change, I was happy I'd caught some fish, and had a lively live bait still patrolling the sea wall. So I decided to try some Feathers and see if I could catch a Mackerel. allthough I tried for 30mins, I didn't feel a knock or anything. It had been short session, and it was time to get going and get the little one safe as the wind had picked up and thicker clouds put a slight chill in the air. Although I'm sure the little one will not remember his first ever fishing trip, it was more about the sensory experience, fresh salty air, the sound of the sea, the seagulls squawking, and the peace and quiet Sampire Hoe offers in stark contrast to the town in which we live, that I sure he enjoyed.  I myself have always enjoyed fishing light gear for small fish at Samphire, it's such great fun! and even still to this day throws up new unexpected species for me. I also know there are monsters of the deep lurking between those big boulders too, and although one teased me last year, and today they avoided me, but I'm really, really looking forward, to gearing up heavy and doing a over nighter to see what comes out to play after dark!

Thornback Ray Fishing, Deal Pier

Deal? Or No Deal?

Deal Pier, Deal, Kent, UK

Deal Pier, rods at dusk

A long old shift of 22 hours at work gave me an opportunity to have a evening fish, the weather was perfect, the gales had stopped, and the wind calmed to nothing but a breeze, the sun was out and the sea flat with a brown tinge to it. I had a freezer full of Blueys waiting the first venture of the year out searching for Thornback Rays. I gave my friend Warren a ring, who I consider to be a local Ray guru, by chance we both had time off, and we decided to give Deal Pier a bash from 3pm till 6pm. I made up a few pulley rigs, 60lb straight through to a single Sukuma size 4/0 hook, bait clip and stop knot and sequin to stop the bait travelling up the line away from the hook. I was all set and took a slow leisurely drive to one of the furthest venues I frequent.

Homemade Pulley Rigs single 4/0 

I met Warren in the car park at Deal sea front, we learned that a few Rays had been out along the arm which filled me with confidence, but we made our way to the bottom deck to fish the deeper water as the tide receded. within minutes, our first rods were cast out at range, the tide wasn't that strong during our trip, but being advised that it can be very snaggy, I opted to use a fixed wire 7oz lead real good for holding bottom, and if it got snagged the wire would just bend straight out releasing the lead. I held bottom without any trouble, I probably could have gone lighter, but I was comfortable and felt confident fishing so used it the whole session. We had loads of space, with only a couple of other anglers on the bottom deck and it didn't take long to get some action, my first and second baits were stripped by whiting, whilst Warren landed 2 Dogfish on his first casts.

1st Thornback Ray of 2016, Deal Pier

I never put a second rod out, and it was just nice having time to watch the rod tip and waiting for them bites. on my third cast my rod took a big pull down and then slack lined, the line was flapping in the breeze, and without moving the rod I reeled in till the line tightened, it had traveled a little way down tide, and with another pull down, I picked the rod up and struck. I was on, there was no doubt in my mind this was a Ray, and it put up a fair good fight, I wasn't sure if it was because of the deeper water than I'm used to fishing from the shore, but slowly and steady I bought the fish to the surface, I have to say it looked quite small looking down, but Warren had the drop net ready and landed the fish for me. Close up it was a bit bigger than I first thought, a female Thornback Ray weighing in at 8lb 2oz, well, for my first session for them this year, target caught, and a decent one at that, I was well happy.

The Rays Hayes

It didn't take Warren long to stamp his mark, taking the next Thornback Ray again on Bluey, this time a male at 5lb. We were both very happy now, with the target fish achieved, the only question remained, was "Are we to go elsewhere?" and continue fishing when the pier closes, We didn't, I really didn't have the energy, I had bitten more off than I could chew with a 22 hour work shift and only a few hours sleep, my body clock was smashed to bits. We fished right till the end with the pier attendant very politely ushering us off the pier in the dark. We had 2.5 hours of fishing and without snagging the bottom and losing any tackle with 6 casts each, we had caught a Thornback each and a mixed bag fish, with Warren's Dogfish, and a a Whiting and Pouting for me, the weather was glorious for the time of year albeit a bit cold, but I was dressed for the occasion. It's always a pleasure to fish with Warren and I'd very much enjoyed my first proper pier fishing trip, something I've always avoided due to not having a drop net, but probably if I'm honest, mostly because I try to avoid the crowds piers attract, allthough today we did had the whole of the deck.

Cod Fishing, The Boardwalk, Dungeness

A Well Timed Brace

Dungeness, Romney Marsh, Kent TN29, UK

Live Bait Rig, Bait the small hook

After waiting what seemed like an eternity, firstly for a months worth of easterly winds to change direction, and when they did they turned to perfect strong South Westerly gales that battered the shore line, turning the water brown with mud, dislodging and smashing up worms and shellfish that then get blown into the shore and washed up on the beach which is what the cod come into feed on, waiting even more the weather changed hourly for days, and after a week the perfect window appeared on the met weather, 15mph winds with gales of 22mph and no rain, which is as good as it gets especially as the gales had been in the 40mph and even 50mph the preceding days. It was a school night and although I had work the next day I wasn't going to miss this opportunity, low tide was at 11pm which I prefer to high water, honestly its a easier fish, less weed, less tide, the only thing to consider is location, and I picked the boardwalk at Dungeness, a steep shingle beach which at low water with a decent cast can still put you into deeper water.  It was going to be a quick 4 hour fish which if went to plan should see me back at home in bed by 3am after a 1 hour 3o min drive.

A Hungry 4lb 5oz Predator with bait

I arrived at 8pm, 3 hours before low water, and conditions were perfect, light wind, no rain, and coloured water with angry swell. I fished 2 rods my 12'6" Greys Centaur TSX 4-6oz paired with my Shimanos Ultigra 10000 XSC spooled with 15lb Daiwa sensor with 15lb to 70lb tapered leaders. I fished one with a live bait rig, which has 2 hooks one smaller baited to catch a whiting, the another bigger hook just above designed to hook a cod that eats the whiting. The other rod was fished on a clipped down pennel with 6/0s baited with large cuttle, squid and lugworm combos. Within minutes of casting the Whiting were showing, mostly little pins the ideal size with a 7/0 circle hook hanging in front of their nose. they keep me busy for a few hours until the tide came to a stand still. Then the Whiting became more scarce at distance, and my rig returned empty twice, so I scrapped the live bait rig and was now on 2 clipped down pennels with 6/0s. I was watching my other rod which had been rattling away for at least 5 minutes with a Whiting clearly hooked, unwilling to bring it in, I left it out as a live bait, well I did have 2 big 6/0 hooks so a good chance of hooking any predator that attacked it. 

2nd Plump Codling at 3lb 3oz

On the other rod I had landed 2 dogs and 2 pouting which were quite large, and got the heart pumping as they gave big bites. Then the first rod which I had left out with a whiting on took a slow pull down, too big for the whiting, then again another slow pull down, not very big, but deliberate. was there weed on the line? I waited for a slack liner or big pull down, it never happened, but I knew something was not right, and after a few minutes of the same I lifted the rod and struck gently to set a hook just in case, I kept pressure on the rod till the lead broke free as it had been a long time out and been buried in the sea bed, it popped out eventually, and immediately I knew I was in, no dramas in the slack tide, I just gently slide a nice 4lb 5oz Cod onto the beach. not sooner had I landed it then the other rod baited with cuttle started doing the same sort of bite, not big enough to get you excited, but very gentle deliberate pulls, again I waited for big pull down or slack liner, it didn't happen. again I lifted the rod and immediately knew I was in confirmed by a knock or two felt down the line, a second Cod of 3lb 3oz. I was over the moon, and as much as I expected to catch another but unfortunately that was it on the cod front, as the flood tide started to gently push though, the Whiting returned with a vengeance, it was time to pack up. I'm really happy I caught one on a live bait, shame it wasn't on a purpose live bait rig, but I'm sure I will soon, It just goes to show how predatory these Cod are, they have bucket mouths and considering the size of the Whiting they eat its hard to see them as innocent fish and chips.

The Bace Together, Meet Battered Cod, & Cod Pie hmmm

Hythe Beach Casting

Mixed Bag Of Suprises

Hythe, Kent. UK

Hythe at night

With Winter approaching the lure of getting out the heavy hitting rods and smashing big leads and baits into a stormy brown coloured sea for Cod is proving too alluring, well its not quiet time yet, but you have to have a line in the water to catch, and at the very least test the rigs and tackle and make sure its up too the job for when things get going. Well, early in the year as it may be, reports of a few Codling were already known, in anticipation, I had some pulley pennels and live bait rigs made up, also a freezer full of frozen lug, squid, blueys and a few crabs. Only work was getting in the way, I'd worked 13 days straight many of which were 24 hours shifts, but with a full day of strong SW winds dying off into the night, and a night time high tide at midnight, It didn't take me long well a nano second if I'm honest to decide that as tired as I was, this was a window that I wasn't gonna miss.

My Cod special

In my mind I had decided to go to Dungeness, because it fishes well after SW winds, but whilst talking to my friend Keith who at short notice was accompanying me on this late night venture had another plan, with some family camping at Hythe he had secured some fresh lugworm which we would pick up on the way, and rather than drive back along the coast to Dungeness, we decided to stay and fish at Hythe, We arrived at Princes Parade and parked randomly along the beach where we could see a gap big enough to fish comfortably without interfering with the fisherman either side. A little later than expected but we were set up and baits were in the water 30mins before high water. I wasn't messing about tonight, big baits and big hooks for Cod, 1 rod cast to the horizon with a live bait rig, a rig with 2 hooks, a small baited hook to catch a whiting (live bait) and a larger hook further up the snod designed to catch a Cod that takes the whiting. and on the second rod a more conventional 6/0 and 5/0 pulley pennal rig baited with lug and a squid head a successful combo I used last year.

Tub Gurnard, A New Species

It wasn't long before both rods were tapping away with the tell tale knocks of whiting, I left the live bait rod out confident the whiting was still on, and reeled in Whiting 2 at a time on the pennel rig, I was off the mark, and the tide had just started to recede, I decided to try a different bait and sent a bluey on a small hook pennel out as far as I could cast. At range the Whiting seemed more sparse, and the rod tip stayed still for a whole 4 minutes longer that at closer range, as the rod tip rattled away, I reeled in what I expected to be a Whiting, but to my surprise I had just landed my first ever Tub Gurnard, known as the butterfly of the sea, it was a beautiful fish, terracotta in colour with a massive head and extremely large pectoral fins, well I didn't expect that! that alone made this session for me, but things were going to get a bit more interesting. Having messed about a bit, I decided to change again whilst Keith was catching Whiting and Pouting on a size 2/0 flapper rig, I decided to have 2 live bait rigs out and use them plentiful Whiting as bait in the hope of a large Cod.

First Cod Of The Winter Season

Keith's First Ever Cod "SMILE!"

I had only just recast the 1st rod at range, and was still baiting up the second rod, when the rod tip made a quick rattle rattle like a Whiting bite but a lot bigger, then went slack line, by the time I had put my second rod down, the line was well down tide, I picked the rod up and lifted into a fish, I wasn't sure what it might be, as the bite wasn't a conventional Cod bite, I thought maybe Bass, but it was putting up quite a fight with a lot of knocking felt down the rod, I beached the fish and to my joy it was the target fish, a lovely 52cm 2lb 15oz Codling, The fish had taken the small lugworm intended for the Whiting but with its bucket sized mouth was hooked by the large 6/0 hook I was over the moon by now, and Keith wasn't going to be left behind and quickly landed himself 50cm 2lb 6 Codling himself on a size 2 hook, Unfortunately this was as many Cod as we were going to catch tonight, but the Whiting and Pouting kept us very busy.

Thorny Suprise

I was getting a bit tired of the Whiting, and whilst keeping a live bait rod out decided to fish the other with very small hooks close in and see if any Dover sole were around, they weren't just hundreds of micro Pouting and Whiting, by now I was just plain exhausted, to give me a rest I decided to try and advoid the Whiting, I decide to put a Bluey bait at far range, as earlier this seemed to avoid most the Whiting. It did, my rod stayed still for at least 5 minutes. as I watched the rod tips the bluey rod tip was slowly dipping and going straightening again, Keith also pointed out my rod tip was moving, not constantly but every 40 seconds or so, presumably I said that's a Ray, I'll wait for it to eat the bait and take off resulting in a big pull down or slack liner, it never happened, and I curiously wondered weather a plastic bag was just wrapped around my line and moving the rod tip or maybe a Dogfish was just sitting there doing nothing as they do, I lost patience after about 10 minutes, I reeled in the rod, something was heavy on the end, I kind of expected to see a Dogfish but when I dragged a small 2lb 8oz Thornback ray up the beach I was ecstatic!!

We had been fishing for 4 hours it was very early morning and now Keith was snoring away, I decided that it was time to call it a night before I felt the same with a long drive home I woke him up to pack up. This session had been full of surprises, normally you target a species and catch a few others, and if your lucky get your target fish, not only had we caught a target fish each, tonight left me never knowing what I was going to pull in next, considering Bass and Dover Sole were also on the cards and a good possibility of catching them, The decision to fish Hythe had payed off, between us we had caught over 60 fish and 9 species in 4 hours, we each had one keeper for the pot, Keith had caught his first Cod and I had caught my first Tub Gurnard. Tonight was a special trip that I will remember for while, not only was the fishing good, the company was also good, and even the rain stayed away. happy days!

6/0 Pennel Good For Two Whiting At A Time

Beach Fishing Dungeness

BBQ Bass and Sunday Sole

Dungeness, Romney Marsh, Kent TN29, UK

I think I can honestly say the summer has arrived, with night time temps of around 15 degrees it was time to do a over nighter, so where and what should I fish for?  I had all ready caught some Rays this year, and being May a little early in the year for Smooth Hounds, I left it right to the last minute to decide, checking catch reports and weather forecasts, I was so confused!, seriously the options were vast, and the choice baffled me, and then somehow I just decided to go target Dover Sole, how? I'm not entirely sure, I hadn't seen any catch reports saying they had even started showing, but the weather conditions and the calm coloured water was ideal for them, and If I'm honest Sarah was coming, and the hunter gatherer in me had decided that we was eating fresh caught fish cooked on a disposable BBQ on the beach tonight. I just had a gut feeling that these small mouthed flatties were happily feeding close to the shore whilst most were throwing big fish baits towards the horizon in search of Rays, 

Add caption

I had my bait ordered 40 fresh Dungeness Black Lug, BBQ and tackle ready, Myself and Sarah headed off to Dungeness, The plan was simple, to fish two rods, 1 at close range of about 20yards and a second fishing at 40yards, both with the same same Wessex rigs on, 2 flappers with short shank Aberdeen size 4 hooks to target the Dover Sole with 1" pieces of Lugworm as bait, and the bottom running leger hook, a pennel Aberdeen size 1/0 hooks for presenting a large whole lugworm to target the Bass. We arrived to a beautiful sun set, the wind was gentle, the sea was flat and the temperature was definitely a lot warmer than it had been all year or even forecast. What a lovely night! It was low water as we set up camp on the high tide mark, I cast out the rods and put the stand half way between the water and camp, and waited....... and waited.........., and waited a bit more? I checked my baits, yes they still on and untouched, so didn't forget to put bait on the hook. This didn't look good. I checked the baits several times over and the sea was well on its way in by now..

Time flew past quickly, 3 hours and still no bites? I was sitting in the beach shelter talking to Sarah, where we was considering cooking the emergency sausages that we had bought just in case I blanked for dinner. I made the statement "I'm really not impressed with this!" and as if by magic my Vercelli rod had a big pull down! running down the beach shouting "That's a big bite!"  I lifted into a fish which was a fair way down tide from where I cast, and soon landed a lovely 46cm Bass weighing 2lb 4oz, perfect! just perfect!, this fish was descaled, gutted, filleted and sizzling away on the BBQ within 15mins, Sarah had pulled out a nice bottle of white wine, cant say it gets much better that that! the Bass was delicious, the company was excellent, the scenery was outstanding and the weather was dam good for England, I didn't care if I caught another fish now, But the fishing gods had something else lined up for me, After eating our fill Sarah feel asleep and I decided to cast the rods out and fish the few hours over high tide.

It was fish from the off, well not exactly fish, but Dogfish! ranging from 20cm to 60cm, I had to laugh I took a tiny dogfish into the bivey to show Sarah who has a fondness for them, she awoke shocked as I waved the fish above her face, then as she realised what it was, she smiled and sleepily reached out to stroke it with affection only for it to bite her finger! luckily they don't have teeth! I have to say, the Dogfish tonight were all very lively, had plenty of fight and big bites, maybe the warmer water temperature had something to do with it. I fished relentlessly till dawn, apart from a handful of tiny Whiting and Pouting the majority I caught were Dogfish, Having fished later than I expected too, I was down to the last baits, The tide was about 3 hours into the ebb by now and retreating fast whilst the sun was just cracking the horizon, bites were slowing down, and the last bite was a now familiar nice firm pull down, followed by a some rattles, as I reeled it in expecting another Dogfish I was surprised to see I had landed a Dover Sole! 34cm and 15oz! get in! Could this night get any better! I really had enjoyed this session, one of the most enjoyable for a long time! I had fished close range no further than 50 yards all night long with light rods, light leads making the fishing so easy, baiting the hook with lug was a breeze compared to the messy and long winded big baits bound with elastic. I had caught lots of fish, eaten fresh BBQ Bass with glass of wine, and to top it off had my Dover Sole to take home for Sunday dinner! 

Ray Fishing, Sandwich Bay and Leysdown

The Thrornbacks Are Back

Sandwich Bay, Kent. UK
Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent, UK

A Lost Puppy

After catching my first Thornback last year, Ive been eagerly awaiting for this time of year again, when the Thornback Rays turn up on the shallow sandy beaches and within casting range. This time I would be targeting them with the knowledge I picked up last year, when I landed a one off large specimen, and my hopes were high. I kicked off the season quiet early, actually very early, back in February when the winds were low and the sea was flat, but with temps around 2 degrees Celsius and freezing fog, were we too eager? Three of us set off to fish Sandwich Bay, myself, a local lad Warren and his friend Matt, armed with Blueys and Herring, Pulley rigs with 3/0 and 4/0 hooks we found a completely deserted beach. We planned to fish 6 hours from low water to high, and within 10 minutes of arrival all rods were cast and resting on the tripods, and we all waited with great anticipation of that tell tale pull down followed by a slack liner.

Best Ray Bait

Warren kicked the night off with a Dogfish, and not long after I had a big bite as my rod tip bent over hard, it then slack lined and I watched the loose line start to bow over my other rod, I picked the rod up, no dogfish could of pulled the rod like that, I reeled in the slack and struck to set the hook, reeling in with a fish on the end, I was sure it was a Thornback Ray if only a small one, but my face dropped when I saw a Dogfish, Warren clocked it straight away, " That's a Smoothhound!" I looked again and sure it was!, that explained the big bite, only ever catching one before I was actually quite happy, and catching one so early on in the year and on fish baits was a bit unusual to say the least. the rest of the session for me was a mixture of Dogfish and Whiting, whilst Mark managed his first ever Rays of 4lb and 5lb with Warren landing 1 himself and the biggest at 10lb, it just wasn't my day, but we proved they were there.

Warren Showing Whos The Ray Master

The next session was a return to sandwich a few days later where myself and Warren both blanked on the Ray front, and I only just managed the one bite, which resulted in a small Whiting, such a big difference a few days can make, but 'Im finding with Rays they go as quickly as they come with each tide. Convinced Sandwich Bay was a bit too quiet, my next 2 sessions were a day and night fish over high water on the Isle of Sheepy at Leysdown, a known Ray mark, but totally new to me, I was helping my Father renovate a old clapped out shell of a holiday chalet into a luxury apartment,luckily just round the corner from my mark, both session resulted in bite less blanks with as much action as a documentary about garden wildlife, my baits were totally untouched and only necessary to change as to put some scent into the water in the hope of attracting a passing fish.

Leysdown, Shallow And Sandy

Reports of Rays were now coming thick and fast as if to temp and tease me, and annoyingly from marks I had been fishing, It seemed they were all over the North Kent coast now. It was decision time, with a new order of Blueys for bait in the freezer and new rigs pulley rigs made up with pennel Sakuma 4/0 manta extras, I was still debating up to the last second as to where to go,  I picked up an old friend Kieth from his home. Decision time! I followed my instinct and gut feeling to fish Sandwich Bay, I went against the grain, I wanted to keep away from the masses following the reports, weather conditions were ideal with light 10mph NE winds, 10 degrees at night and the water still a little cloudy. it was Friday night and would of been very busy at any producing mark, Sandwich was going to be quieter, and I decided to fish along the bay where I caught a Ray last year,

Nice 4lb 1oz Female

We arrived at our mark, a hour before low water, we fished 1 rod for Ray and used a continental rod with flatties rigs to see what was about, well Dogfish, Small Rocklings, Smaller Whiting and even smaller Poutings were about, It wasn't long before the novelty of reeling in these micro fish wore off, We were there for the Rays, The Ray Rods had been quiet all night and only accounted for a solitary Dogfish. Although I tried to keep optimistic, it was hard as all the reports and evidence pointed to go elsewhere, and even Kieth knew that. With a renewed optimism, the tide started to push through which I know will change fishing conditions and with fresh baits hoped would bring the fish in. I was right and my continental rod pulled down hard, I ran to the rod and it down it again, hoping for a a slack liner or movement from the tip, it stopped dead where it was originally, the excitement turned to disbelief, the rod tip did not move a millimeter again.

Nasty 5lb 12oz Male

I stood by the rods wondering whether to reel in the continental rod and check the bait, then my other Rod bent over hard and went slack line, they had finally turned up! I watched the line gradually start to tighten with the rig and fish well down tide now, I picked up the rod and wound up the slack and struck with confidence to set the hook. I was into a dead weight, to say it was a fight would be a lie, I think I dragged it 80 odd yards along the seabed with the Ray using its nose as a shovel. It wasn't the big fight I'd experience before. I though maybe this was a real big fish, but I was wrong, a 4lb 2oz female Thornback slid onto beach, I was relieved that she was hooked nicely in the mouth, she was unhooked, weighed and photographed in a few minutes, and released with minimal fuss. and after a minute of floating in the gentle surf, slowly disappeared in the darkness.

The fish were here, I baited up and re cast the rod as quick as I could, my heart was pumping with excitement, I then reeled in the continental rod, and the bait seemed untouched despite the big pull downs, maybe fish swimming into my leader. It wasn't long and my rod tip started wobbling slowly and deliberately and finally ping straight as the fish pulled the lead free from its grip on the sea bed, this fish was exactly the same fight, a lot of effort and pumping the rod, Then I had landed my second Ray, this time a larger male at 5lb12oz, This fish was angry and arched his back and tail and when upright on the beach looked like he was standing up, I flipped him over and saw that both hooks were inside his mouth, I struggled with long forceps and decided to get closer with stronger long nose pliers and used them to open his mouth which he was keeping stubbornly closed, then with out encouragement he opened his mouth and astonishingly both hooks minus bait flew out his mouth like he was spitting them out, job done, again the fish was released without much drama. It was nice to see a male and female together so close, the male was angry, covered in lots more thorns and more diamond shape with its clasps hanging like a big set of balls either side of his tail whilst the female was calm, had far fewer thorns and a more rounded shape. Unfortunately that was it fish wise for the session, I really wished that Keith had of caught one, but fishing is like that. his time will come, I had found them on my 5th attempt this year, it's a waiting game for them, they are there one night and not the next and even if they are there you may get a hour and they may miss your bait and pick up everyones around you, so the key is putting the time on the beach and waiting, and with some luck your paths will cross in the darkness, I've thoroughly enjoyed targeting these Rays, and makes a nice change to be fishing on a calm night rather than severely windy in your face bad weather Cod session, but there is one down side, I need to warn you about, seriously! Bluey, as good a Ray bait as it is, it stinks real bad, and even after 2 washes my fishing clothes have been hidden in the garage from the Mrs, if she gets hold of them, she won't hesitate and bin them!.